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BLANCHET & Associés
217
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Rare Ndjem Fang reliquary, Sangha River region, Cameroon, wo…
See original version (French)
217
-
Rare Ndjem Fang reliquary, Sangha River region, Cameroon, wo…
See original version (French)
Estimate €400 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
Rare Ndjem Fang reliquary, Sangha River region, Cameroon, wood, H.30cmxW.12cm. The figure, with bent legs, appears to be sitting on an extension reminiscent of the Fang statues that are customarily placed in the basket in which the bones of ancestors are kept. The back, forearms and legs are decorated with an incised design of rings or short parallel ribs. The brachycephalic head, the triangular face projected forwards, with two round mother-of-pearl eyes set very close together and visored superciliary arches, the short arms barely free of the trunk, and the hands with open palms treated like flat discs, are all part of an original technique with few examples in the sculptural arts of Gabon and Congo. The piece evokes the iconography of reliquary guardians, and certainly bears witness to the eastward spread of cult concepts linked to ancestors.
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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